Saudi Arabia Stresses its Support to Ensure Success of Yemeni Consultations

King Salman chairs the cabinet meeting. (SPA)
King Salman chairs the cabinet meeting. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia Stresses its Support to Ensure Success of Yemeni Consultations

King Salman chairs the cabinet meeting. (SPA)
King Salman chairs the cabinet meeting. (SPA)

The Saudi government underscored on Tuesday its support to ensuring the success of the intra-Yemeni consultations that kicked off in Riyadh on Tuesday.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz chaired the cabinet meeting that was held in Riyadh.

The ministers hailed during the meeting the efforts of the Saudi-led Arab coalition in protecting global energy supplies from hostile attacks.

They were briefed on the assessment of the armed drone and ballistic missile attacks carried out by the Iran-backed Houthi militias against civilian locations and vital facilities in the Kingdom.

They said the attacks are a threat to regional and international security and they reflect the Houthis' rejection of a political solution in Yemen.

They called on the world and its organizations to stand against these attacks and all the sides that perpetrate and support them.

The Yemen consultations are being hosted by the Gulf Cooperation Council and will conclude on April 7.

The ministers also tackled the latest developments in the Russian-Ukrainian crisis. They underlined the Gulf support to holding dialogue between the warring parties to reach a peaceful settlement to the crisis and averts economic, humanitarian and political repercussions on the world.



Bahrain Sentences 12 to Prison for Supporting Iran’s ‘Terrorist’ Acts

A view of Bahrain's financial district in the capital city of Manama. (Reuters file)
A view of Bahrain's financial district in the capital city of Manama. (Reuters file)
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Bahrain Sentences 12 to Prison for Supporting Iran’s ‘Terrorist’ Acts

A view of Bahrain's financial district in the capital city of Manama. (Reuters file)
A view of Bahrain's financial district in the capital city of Manama. (Reuters file)

Bahrain’s High Criminal Court sentenced on Monday 12 people to ten years in jail for “supporting and endorsing Iran's terrorist attacks against the kingdom”.

They were also accused of “obtaining and disseminating prohibited sensitive data, capturing images of restricted sites, and spreading false news and rumors through social media platforms during the Iranian aggression against the kingdom,” reported Bahrain’s state news agency BNA.

The court also imposed fines of BD2,000 on some of the accused and ordered the confiscation of seized materials.

“The Public Prosecution had received several reports from the Cyber Crime Directorate regarding social media accounts containing images, videos and comments expressing support for the Iranian terrorist attacks targeting Bahrain”, added the report.

The content also included the publication of sensitive data, the capturing images of restricted sites, and the dissemination of false news and rumors “intended to undermine public morale, spread panic among the public, and harm public security during the Iranian aggression against the kingdom”.

Investigations led to the identification of the individuals behind the accounts. Upon receiving the reports, the Public Prosecution immediately launched investigations, questioning the defendants, hearing witness testimony, and assigning technical experts to examine the seized digital devices. The examinations confirmed the defendants' involvement in the offences attributed to them.

Accordingly, the Public Prosecution referred the defendants to the High Criminal Court. The cases were heard over several sessions during which all legal guarantees were observed, including the attendance of defense counsel and the defendants' right to present their defense, culminating in the issuance of Monday’s rulings.


Kuwait Court Sentences Former Interior Minister to 3 Years in Prison

Former Interior Minister Sheikh Talal Khaled Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. (KUNA)
Former Interior Minister Sheikh Talal Khaled Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. (KUNA)
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Kuwait Court Sentences Former Interior Minister to 3 Years in Prison

Former Interior Minister Sheikh Talal Khaled Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. (KUNA)
Former Interior Minister Sheikh Talal Khaled Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. (KUNA)

Kuwait's Court of Cassation on Monday sentenced former Minister Sheikh Talal Khaled Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah to three years in prison.

The court also fined him 3,000 dinars ($9,700) after convicting him of incidents related to secret expenditures.

Sheikh Talal Khaled Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, 59, served as First Deputy Prime Minister and former Minister of Interior from October 16, 2022, to January 17, 2024. Prior to that, he held the position of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense from March 9, 2022, to October 16, 2022.

On January 14, 2025, Kuwait's Ministers Court sentenced Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled to 14 years in prison for embezzlement of expenditures from both the Ministries of Defense and Interior, ordering him to return around 10 million dinars and fining him 20 million dinars.

In the first case, concerning Ministry of Defense expenditures, Sheikh Talal was sentenced to seven years in jail, ordered to return 500,000 dinars, fined one million dinars, and dismissed from his post. An expatriate that was also charged with him, was sentenced to four years, fined 294,000 dinars and expelled from Kuwait.

In the second case, related to Ministry of Interior expenditures, Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled was sentenced to seven years in prison, ordered to return 9 million dinars, and fined 19 million dinars.


Saudi Foreign Minister, Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister Discuss Regional Developments

Saudi flag (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi flag (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Foreign Minister, Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister Discuss Regional Developments

Saudi flag (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi flag (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah received a phone call on Monday from Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi, SPA reported.

During the call, the two ministers reviewed regional developments and discussed issues of mutual interest.